1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to computer systems and more specifically to user interfaces for computer systems that facilitates localization and organization of documents along timelines.
2. Description of the Related Art
United States Patent Application Publication No.: US 2007/0214169 A1, published on Sep. 13, 2007 discloses a Multi-dimensional locating system and method (title). The patent application discloses ways for managing and displaying vectors of documents and other computer-readable files. A vector of documents groups a plurality of documents along a predetermined order, inter alia, is taught.
United States Patent Application Publication No.: US 2007/0271508 A1, published on Nov. 22, 2007 discloses a Multi-dimensional locating system and method (title). A plurality of vectors of documents sharing a common timeline is disclosed.
Under some circumstances it is useful to display documents along a timeline although it can prevent an efficient use of the display area when, for example, no documents are located on the timeline over a significant period of time.
More than one vector of documents are displayable wherein each vector of documents can group documents having a specific attribute in common. Thus the number of documents chronologically disposed on each vector of documents can vary and a timescale commonly shared by the vectors of documents does not maximize the use of the display area.
Using the same timescale for a plurality of vectors of documents with a different number of documents on each vector for the same period of time does not allow an efficient simultaneous display of the vectors of documents. If the timescale is based on a vector of documents having many documents, another vector of documents that has very little documents will almost be empty. Conversely, if the timescale is based on the vector of documents having very little documents, the other vector will be so crowded with documents that it will hardly be possible to usefully glance through the documents. The documents being not enough evenly distributed on both vectors of documents it becomes difficult to appreciate documents displayed on different vectors of documents at the same time with the same timescale.
Another issue arise when one vector of documents is more insightfully displaying its documents according to a linear timeline to show, for example, the distribution of the documents on the vector and another vector of documents displays that documents according to a non-linear timeline (i.e. because there is no added value to show the distribution of the documents along the timeline). A common timeline can therefore hardly be used for both arrays of documents.